A Rainbow of Words

The term colourful language is sometimes used as a euphemism for oaths, curses and expletives generally, but it’s interesting to note how much colour is used to describe moods or actions.

Blue is sad, yellow is cowardly, red is angry, brown is melancholic and green is jealous. Grey is gloomy, black is even worse and rosy pink is the only positive emotion, being optimistic or sometimes too much so.

In politics, a safe electoral bet is a blue-ribbon seat whereas red is associated with the radical left and pink is a half-hearted radical. The colour of your collar – white, blue or pink - denotes the work you do.

You can get a black mark for crossing the yellow line, you can paint the town red and see pink elephants once in a blue moon.

When it comes to parts of the body, you may be feeling in the pink of health, or become white-faced with shock. Or you may be red-faced at being caught red-handed, being yellow-bellied or being a redneck. However, you may be lucky enough to have green fingers, or plenty of grey matter.

So, whether you’re a scarlet woman (a wicked sinner), a bluestocking (an intellectual woman), a greenie (an environmentalist) or a blue-eyed boy (the favourite), I hope you have a colourful day!

Happy puzzling

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A Rainbow of Words

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